Baghdad, Nov 11, SPA -- Police said a car bomb triggered inthe heart of Baghdad on Thursday killed 17 people, sendingup plumes of thick black smoke above the central part ofthe Iraqi capital. A police captain on the scene, speaking on condition ofanonymity, said that the blast had narrowly missed a U.S.convoy that passed by seconds before. The explosion gouged a giant crater near Nasser Square onSaadoun Street, a densely populated commercial area withmajor hotels housing foreigners.--SPA1420 Local Time 1120 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/216745